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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27149749">5 times Tim interacted with his family as a dragon</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/felicialovescats/pseuds/felicialovescats'>felicialovescats</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Sworn On A Dragon's Heart [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Batman - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Dragon!Tim, Family Bonding, Gen, Sibling Bonding</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 22:28:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,044</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27149749</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/felicialovescats/pseuds/felicialovescats</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Stuck as a dragon as he was, Tim couldn't work, couldn't be Red Robin. He could only stay at home. </p><p>These were the five times he interacted with his family members as a dragon.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tim Drake &amp; Alfred Pennyworth, Tim Drake &amp; Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake &amp; Damian Wayne, Tim Drake &amp; Dick Grayson, Tim Drake &amp; Jason Todd</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Sworn On A Dragon's Heart [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1785838</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>335</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>5 times Tim interacted with his family as a dragon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I just want to say that I do read all reviews, and I did jot down the ideas you guys gave me! But this one was already on the way anyway, so here ya go!</p><p>Thank you for all the previous reviews, and I hope you guys enjoy this one too!! XD</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">Damian</span>
</p><p>The first day he was stuck in dragon form, Tim didn’t feel much different. Well, other than the fact that <em>he was physically a dragon</em>, and that he could feel his magic. But he was still Tim, worrying about his paperwork and his duties as Red Robin.</p><p>He was currently at his room, claws clacking on his laptop so harshly he flinched every time he typed. But that was the best he could do at this current moment. He <em>could </em>have the voice-recognizer activated, but he wouldn’t have the privacy. Thus painstakingly slow and harsh typing it was.</p><p>Until the door opened and out popped Titus. The large dog was almost the same size as Tim, same height and all. The dog was visibly wary of Tim, hovering near the door and not willing to go close.</p><p>Tim looked at the dog, and looked back at his laptop. <em>Well, I might as well take a break. </em>So he dropped himself onto the floor, where he met eye to eye with Titus. ‘Hi boy, you can’t recognize me, can you? But I think I should smell the same.’ Curling up into himself made him a little smaller, and that seemed to make Titus feel braver to approach him. His voice probably helped a little – when he <em>spoke </em>Titus’ ears perked up, and he was looking around the room to find Tim.</p><p>Too bad Tim was now a dragon instead of a human.</p><p>But Titus approached, and when Tim offered his hand (claws closed into his palms) Titus took a few sniffs. Then his tail started to wag.</p><p>‘Yeah boy, you recognize me, right?’ Tim carefully pet the dog, not wanting his sharp claws to hurt him. Seeing Titus slowly getting excited, he could feel himself getting excited too.</p><p>‘Titus, you wanna play wrestle?’</p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>Damian heard scuffles near Drake’s door when he was looking for Titus. Normally he would just leave, because he and Drake never had any encounters that end well.</p><p>He would admit that it was mostly his fault. Drake had been increasingly tolerant of his behavior, but that just spooked him more. Damian was already used to the relationship he had with his father’s other children. Dick was like another father figure to him, Jason played the role of “the crazy aunt”, if all the family dramas that Dick forced him to watch was true. While Drake and him can be counted as mortal enemies.</p><p>Damian worked hard to keep it that way. He started it, after all, returning all of Drake’s attempts at reconciling with hostility. At first it was true – among all of father’s children, he was the one who has the highest potential of being father’s heir in terms of his detective skills, as well as inheriting the Wayne Enterprise.</p><p>But it was through those interactions (and conversations he heard) that he found out that most of what Drake did was because he was asked to. Yes he had the skills, but he did not force his way into situations where he could showcase his skills. Granted, he solved cold cases for fun (Damian really wondered how could anyone find that <em>fun</em>), and he genuinely liked to make new plans that would increase the company’s revenue.</p><p>However his relationship with Drake was set, and Damian did not know what to do to change it. Whenever Drake spoke, Damian had the urge to rebuke him. It was already a bad habit, a habit that was set in his mind. Throwing insults at his every decision, even though Damian knew very well that Drake was not an idiot.</p><p>He did manage to decrease the number of incidents, and he had ensured that he did not cause Drake any harm during their fights. No blood was drawn, which was an improvement, but it wasn’t enough.</p><p> </p><p>The loud noises in the room made Damian frowned at the door. His hands twitched – he didn’t know if he wanted to open the door and see what’s inside that’s making the noise, or just leave Drake alone. That made him think about the way Drake felt under his hand, as a dragon.</p><p>He loved all animals equally, but he did not have the chance to be in contact with a reptile of any kind, so he had never known how scales felt against his skin. Now he knew – Drake was rough to the touch, each spike a potential weapon to cut and bleed. But when he was touching him, Damian could feel the sheer strength of the creature.</p><p>It was the fact that Drake had this strength in him all along, and yet he still remained in human form to fight him, was something enlightening. And it was at this point where Damian decided to just take a look into the room if the door is unlocked.</p><p>The door clicked open, and Damian peaked through the crack. What he saw made him speechless.</p><p> </p><p>Drake was attacking Titus!</p><p> </p><p>He slammed the door open. ‘Stop that this instance Drake-!’</p><p>Drke froze, his head swiveled to look at him, his jaws opened just at the front paw of Titus. The dog, only the other hand, continued his path of bulldozing Drake onto the floor from the couch, making the two creatures fall flat on the floor.</p><p>‘Damian?’ Drake asked, surprised. But before he could say anymore, Titus came barreling towards the dragon, distracting him enough to ignore the newcomer and continued on with their fight.</p><p>The view of a ferocious dragon fighting a harmless dog was enough to incite Damian’s anger. He knew Titus and his temperament – the canine may be huge and looks fierce, but like most huge dogs, Titus was a kind soul. Honestly, this was the first time Damian had seen him act so puppy-like.</p><p>But Damian didn’t trust Drake’s dragon form. No matter how kind he was to animals when he was human, new information had told them that Drake was, in fact, a dragon. A mythical creature that Damian had no idea existed until now. A creature that he had no experience with, and so he did not know how Drake would react to anything Titus do.</p><p><em>What if Titus accidentally hurt Drake, like how dogs usually would when they get too excited, would Drake get angry and kill Titus? </em>Damian didn’t know that. He didn’t know Drake well enough, in this form, to do any decisions.</p><p>So while he was keeping an eye on the two figures rough-housing, Damian slowly shifted towards the seat nearby. He was mostly ignored, with just a moment of heart-stopping pause when Drake met his eye, but the dragon was quickly distracted by Titus.</p><p>It was starting to look more like two dogs playing, than a real fight, if one were to ignore the fact that one was a dragon.</p><p>Damian’s tensed shoulders slowly relaxed. As the playfighting slowed down with the two creatures starting to get tired, he spotted a blank paper and a few pencils on the table nearby. Figured that Drake wouldn’t mind him taking a blank paper, he grabbed them.</p><p>As he settled down on the seat again, the two creatures were panting hard on the floor, both satisfied with the amount of activity they had. Titus’ eyes were half-closed, and he was laying belly down on the floor. Drake draped himself over the massive dog, equally tired.</p><p>The sight was – mildly adorable, to say the least. While Drake was still Drake, him being distinctively non-human made it easier for Damian. He had always thought animals much easier to deal with than humans. Quietly, he sketched the two sleeping beasts onto the paper.</p><p>It was a pleasant afternoon, perfectly etched down with a simple pencil. Damian knew he would be keeping this sketch with his other prized possessions.</p><p>Maybe he would have another chance at approaching Drake again while he was still in dragon form.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">Alfred</span>
</p><p>It was day two of Tim being in his dragon form, and he was <em>so bored. </em>The slow typing had finally made him furious enough to almost flame his laptop (he turned his head away just in time to let out his fire at the empty space beside him instead, which was good because first: he needed that laptop, and second: Alfred will <em>kill him </em>if he had damaged the furniture). His claws basically had made <em>everything </em>difficult for him.</p><p>He couldn’t read – claws were not made for flipping pages. He could not write or sign anything - claws were not made for holding pens. He could not do any tinkering or fixing the numerous projects he had on electronics – claws were not made to hold small items.</p><p>Tim was almost tempted to do what claws were made to do – hurt and kill. Tim really wanted to kill something. Preferably himself, so he doesn’t have to deal with the boredom anymore.</p><p>He also didn’t want to face Bruce, who by now would be convinced that Tim’s dragon form was useless to him, and he would probably start to have plans on getting rid of the magical creature in his city. Bruce didn’t like metas, but Tim had no idea of his opinion towards magical creatures. Currently Bruce was busy covering for Tim at work, and with his nightly patrol and how Tim was banned from the cave, Tim didn’t see Bruce these past days.</p><p>Tim was sure Bruce would want to talk to him soon – his statement about a certain file and everything promised that.</p><p>But for now, Tim had nothing to do, and he was really bored.</p><p>Finally deciding that he should go out of his room and find something to occupy his mind while Damian was at school and Titus (who he had a great time with yesterday) was asleep, Tim left through the windows (because claws were not made for opening doorknobs) and entered the kitchen through the opened window, giving Alfred a shock.</p><p>‘Oh dear me!’</p><p>Claws clicking against the floor, Tim apologised sheepishly. ‘Sorry Alfred. You have a window opened, and I can’t exactly open any doors…’</p><p>Alfred shook his head, glancing reproachingly at Tim’s dragonic form. ‘Master Tim, you may not have the means to open doors, but <em>I do. </em>And you still retain the ability to talk.’</p><p>Which meant that if Tim were to call out for some help, Alfred would be willing to open doors for him. ‘Oh, okay. I didn’t think about that.’</p><p>He only received an exasperated sigh from the older man, which Tim will bet gold that there’s where Bruce learnt it from. Alfred then turned back to what he was doing, which was apparently brewing tea.</p><p>And wow, Tim’s a little hungry right now.</p><p>Tim moved as quietly as he could, but with the claws it’s hard to sneak about, so it’s rather quick when Alfred turned back and raised an eyebrow at him. ‘Yes, Master Tim?’</p><p>‘Can I have some too? And something to eat?’</p><p>‘Of course. But please refrain yourself from moving around. I will bring the food to the dining room shortly.’</p><p>‘Oh, that’s alright. I thought you were going to make some tea for yourself and have a break right? I can just sit with you, I won’t make a mess I promise.’</p><p>Alfred nodded. ‘Of course, I was planning to have some tea in the sitting room. If you would wait a while, we can move there together.’</p><p> </p><p>In no time they were relocated. The sitting room was close to the kitchen, and when they reached the door Alfred opened it even with one hand busy. Tim would have helped, but claws.</p><p>They settled down onto a set of table and chairs. It was one of those comforting and soft couches that Tim absolutely love/hate, depending on what he wanted to do. For relaxation, he absolutely adored these chairs.</p><p>Alfred sat down and poured some tea into a mug that had a big enough handle for Tim to slide three claws into. He then poured his own tea and took a sip, closing his eyes with a silent sigh.</p><p>Tim was crouching at the edge of the chair, his tail getting in the way of sitting the way he wanted to – butt against the back of the chair. Instead, his tail was all curled up in the seat. His hind claws almost digging into the edge of the chair, and he was using both his legs and tail to keep his balance. With enthusiastic grabby claws, he managed to grab and hold the mug well enough to pour the tea into his snout.</p><p>The snort made him pause, but only for a moment, because Alfred’s tea deserved his full attention. When he was done with that mouthful (the normally burning hot tea was nothing to his dragon throat), he looked up into Alfred’s amused smile.</p><p>‘What?’</p><p>‘Oh nothing, Master Tim. It is just my first time seeing a dragon drinking tea from a mug, pardon me when I find it… a little amusing.’</p><p>Tim rolled his eyes. Yeah, he could imagine seeing a lizard-like creature sitting upright on a chair, grabbing a mug with his claws and pouring it down his snout was funny in a way. ‘Yeah yeah, laugh at the dragon without opposable thumbs, why don’t you?’</p><p>But the tea did wonders to Tim and his mood. He wasn’t so focused on his lacks anymore, and he was just glad that he had the time to spend with one of his favourite person. And this was also the moment where he decided that he didn’t spend enough time with Alfred, and promised himself to do so.</p><p>When he had his opposable thumbs back, of course.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">Jason</span>
</p><p>By the fifth day of being a dragon, Tim truly understood why his mother had wanted him to be good at shifting into human form, and <em>staying </em>in human form.</p><p>That’s because unless you’re living in the wild, let’s say in the woods or forest or whatever that doesn’t have humans, you’re gonna need the human appearance to do literally <em>anything </em>here. Tim couldn’t go anywhere, couldn’t hang out with his friends. And sure, usually he would opt to stay at home, comfortable with his own company. But that was when he could <em>choose </em>to do so.</p><p>No matter how much he liked to be alone with work, or even some obsessive researching, he still needed social interaction. Although he thought he could handle it, this incident of him being in his dragon form only showed that yeah, his limit was three days (he’s counting the teatime with Alfred as one of his social interactions).</p><p>That’s not to say that no one had talked to him or anything. Alfred was still there, being the kind and responsible butler that he was. But he was always busy with his tasks around the house as well as those needed trips outside the manor, and Tim felt a little embarrassed to get his attention, like he was some young child crying for its parents’ attention. Damian was there too, but although the play-fighting with Titus seemed to have convinced the boy that he was just the same in human or in dragon form, he was still reluctant to interact with Tim.</p><p>Bruce was busy with his patrols and taking up Tim’s part of work (well, Tim would argue that it was <em>Bruce’s </em>work to begin with, and he was only supposed to be his CEO temporarily, but so far the dynamic had worked, and it gave Tim some opportunity to have Bruce’s attention to himself sometimes, even if it’s about work). When Bruce managed to stay at home for a few hours, he would be in his study, most probably reading up on dragons and any myths/stories surrounding Tim’s species.</p><p>He still hadn’t call Tim out about him hiding that he was a dragon, and Tim suspected it was only in due time. Bruce would like to be totally prepared, with all information available to him before facing any planned conflicts. Tim understood that, but at the same time it was like there’s something hanging over him and he couldn’t help but feel anxious about it.</p><p>So adding the anxiousness with the fact that <em>he couldn’t do anything that he used to do because he was a dragon, </em>made a bored frustrated dragon.</p><p> </p><p>Which was why Tim shouldn’t be lectured about appropriate responses when Jason came over with what seemed like a horse saddle, and a big grin on his face.</p><p>‘Heya Timmy, look at what I have here!’ He raised the saddle up, like Tim couldn’t see the huge thing.</p><p>Tim knew exactly what Jason was up to. Hell, he had even said it himself, mentioning about how riding a dragon was a dream that he never knew could be fulfilled until now. Seeing the saddle just made it all the more obvious.</p><p>If it were other, older dragons, they would have been horribly offended at the idea of some imbecilic young human trying to ride them. After all, the dragons were a prideful species due to their longevity, magic, and their sense of superiority over two-legged vulnerable creatures.</p><p>But it was Tim. Tim was young and notably <em>not </em>raised through dragon-means of childcare (meaning he wasn’t left alone having to fend for himself, and therefore become cynical towards life in general). He was raised human, and therefore was exposed to the common fairy tales and stories about dragon riders, and thus had viewed it as normal-ish.</p><p>And it was Jason. Tim’s <em>Robin, </em>no matter what had happened before. He was the most amazing person, a bit of an asshole, and totally a different type of big brother than Dick, but also the fun and reliable one. If there’s something Tim can do for him, Tim would do that in a heartbeat. It definitely didn’t hurt that Bruce <em>loves </em>Jason, in a way that he didn’t with his other sons. Perhaps it was the loss that he had, making him even more cautious with Jason. Just a little more open-minded, a little more accepting of his choices.</p><p>
  <em>And it was Jason, who had the hugest grin on his face in anticipation of what’s going to come. Who the hell can resist that?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>They were in the backyard, where’s enough space from the Manor that no one would notice them until it was too late.</p><p>‘Here,’ Jason gestured to the hugs saddle on the grass. ‘I know you can change your size, so be horse-sized and see if this saddle will fit.’ He was standing still, but tiny movements belied his excitement. Sort of like a kid trying not to bounce on his heels.</p><p>With a thought full of intention, Tim, previously the size of a normal dog became the size of a horse. The new size allowed him to look into Jason straight in the eyes without needing to lift his head. Tim stretched a little, testing out this new size. He never had the chance to play around with his magic and his dragon form. With a flick of his tail, he stood in front of Jason.</p><p>‘Can your saddle actually fit on me? I’m not a horse, after all, and we’re gonna be up in the air, and you’d need a very good grip to not fall down.’</p><p>‘Yeah yeah, of course I know what I’m doing, just shut up and let me do my thing.’ Jason rolled his eyes as he slid the saddle over Tim’s back. It was quite comfortable, which was the opposite of what Tim had expected when he first saw the thing. Jason was messing with the straps, and it really seemed like he knew what he was doing, so Tim kept silent.</p><p>It was a comfortable silence, other than the fact that Tim kept very still for Jason to do what he needed to do. The stillness was starting to get to him though, the awkwardness of having to avoid moving, while someone else was giving you their full attention making everything weird for Tim.</p><p>The silence was broken by Jason, even though the man made sure to keep his eyes on what he was doing. As if by doing so he could make the conversation less impactful.</p><p>‘You know, I had always wanted to ride a dragon when I was young and saw one flew in the skies once.’</p><p> </p><p>The implications of Jason’s statement were mind-boggling. So much so that Tim spluttered ‘but how?!’</p><p>But it wasn’t that Tim was overreacting. There was a reason why Bruce and everyone else never knew about dragons, and how the Drakes were actual dragons instead of humans. Heck, for all Tim knew, the Drakes <em>were </em>the only dragons in Gotham. From what his mother had told him, it was just a part of their survival, to ensure that the humans never knew of their existence. Legends, fairy tales, stories all had shown how humans had treated dragons – like they are monsters, only existing for humans to defeat and be claimed as heroes.</p><p>To his mother, hiding had been instinctive. Jack was the only one who knew what she was, and it was only because of his clever tricks that he found out.</p><p>(Janet never told him <em>how </em>Jack found out, just that he knew, had devised a cunning plan that got Janet interested, and they had formed a family afterwards).</p><p>Tim was made to swear to never let anyone know, and definitely not young kids who cannot control their mouth. And judging from how Janet deals with this, Tim had assumed that <em>all dragons </em>are secretive like them.</p><p>Which made Jason’s statement that he had seen a dragon fly much harder to believe.</p><p> </p><p>‘I was still in the Crime Alley,’ Jason continued, seemingly unaware of Tim’s dilemma. ‘There was literally nothing for you to do when you’re homeless, you know. Or poor. You focus on getting your next meal, you focus on getting your next place to sleep, you avoid getting beaten up. I always figured that it’s kinda funny, how your life becomes so much more complicated over so much simpler things, when you’re rich. But nah, I won’t get into that.’</p><p>Jason smacked his lips in displeasure when the knot he was tying unravel on its own.</p><p>‘So I’m bored, aite? Have some food in me, sky still bright enough to not to worry about being cold and shit, and whaddya know, a dragon was flying in the sky.’</p><p>He said it so nonchalantly Tim actually paused and waited for the punchline until he realised Jason already delivered it. Just as he was trying to wrap his mind around the fact that <em>a dragon flew without using its magic to hide itself?!! </em>Jason finally finished with his saddle, and he took a step back.</p><p>‘And that’s how I had the dream of flying on a dragon. So you better make this good, alright? If there’s a reason why I was brought back to life, is to ride a dragon.’ He patted Tim’s shoulder once, twice. Hard enough that Tim was sure Jason’s palm would be red from his rough scales.</p><p> </p><p>Tim moved around, jumping and trying his best to dislodge the saddle, but Jason’s work was perfect, and the saddle stayed where it was with minimal shifting.</p><p>Once he was sure, Tim looked at Jason. ‘Mind if I stretch my wings for a while? Just some warm-ups.’ He extended his wings, and they were actually a little sore just from the stretch. It was to be expected though, as he hadn’t even used them during these past few days of being a dragon.</p><p>Jason waved wordlessly, a universal <em>do what you want </em>gesture. And so Tim took off to the sky.</p><p>He was honestly a little relieved that he still remembered how to fly. He guessed it was just kind of an instinct for winged creatures, or dragons anyway. Just to be a showoff, he did some loops in the sky, confident that Jason hadn’t taken his eyes off of him yet.</p><p>The shout of ‘if you’re done stop showing off and get your scaly ass back down!’ proved him right.</p><p>Tim landed right in front of Jason, who had his arms crossed and his hips tilted in way that just screamed <em>fucking hurry up bitch. </em>‘Come on, I don’t have all day. Actually, <em>we </em>don’t have all day. I bet my favourite guns that if Bruce saw us he’ll have a heart attack. So we need to be done before he comes home.’</p><p>Tim rolled his eyes, but honestly, yeah. He could imagine Bruce’s face when he saw them up on the air, which gave him even more incentive to do this. He crouched down to make it easier for Jason to climb on, and Jason did it so easily Tim would suspect that he had done this a million times before if he didn’t know he was the only dragon Jason knew.</p><p>Apparently, his disbelief was obvious, because Jason commented while he was adjusting his posture on Tim’s back. ‘I had lessons on riding horses when I was younger. It was damn easy to convince Bruce to do anything as long as you use the right tone. Then once I’ve returned, when I have time I just kept going back. Now shut up.’</p><p>‘I wasn’t even talking-‘</p><p>‘SHUT!’</p><p> </p><p>Considering that a dragon is definitely much different than a horse, Jason took to being on Tim quite well. He was heavy enough that Tim would need to learn to compensate for during flight, but he was quite confident that he could get them up in the air, and stay there for a couple of hours.</p><p>Tim shifted a bit, and Jason shifted with him. ‘Ya good u there?’</p><p>‘Heart’s hammerin’ like crazy, but I was born ready for this, Timmy. Now get your ass up in the air!’ Jason sounded… a little like when he was younger. When he was still in the Robin cape, young and overjoyed to be out in the city during the night. When he was still wearing Robin’s colours.</p><p>That reminded Tim of the young Robin Jason was, that time in his life when everything was good and nothing hurt.</p><p>Well, everything was good now, and currently, nothing hurt. So Tim should not be wasting time on this.</p><p>He crouched down a little to prepare himself. ‘Ya ready?’</p><p>‘Born ready bitch!’</p><p> </p><p>Tim took off, enjoying Jason’s yell of excitement.</p><p> </p><p>(Instead of Tim watching as <em>his </em>Robin fly past roofs and windows, now he’s the one bring him up in the air.)</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">Dick</span>
</p><p>They were so absorbed into the <em>freedom </em>and <em>wonder </em>of flying, that they only realised Dick was waiting for them when they heard his yell and saw him waving his arms over his head.</p><p>The pat on his neck told him that Jason noticed him too.</p><p>‘- go down?’ The wind was a little strong, and Tim only managed to catch a few words from what Jason said. But it was obvious what he wanted, and so they descended down, Tim making sure to land close to Dick so the gust of wind blew towards Dick and messed up his hair.</p><p>‘Hey!’</p><p>Tim huffed a laugh as Jason slid down from his back.</p><p>‘That was a great ride, bud. We haveta do that again sometime.’ The man said, a wide grin on his face. His hair was in disarray due to the wind, and Jason only ran his fingers through them to tame them.</p><p>‘Awww I want to have a go too!’ Dick pouted. And Tim would gladly do that, but now that he was on the ground, he was feeling a little tired. His flight muscles were all out of practice, and he knew he would have cramps later. It was worth it for Jason, though. Definitely worth it.</p><p>Dick, however, would need to wait for another day. Tim explained, and bared his teeth in an apologetic way. His elder brother laughed it off though, his tone making it obvious that he wasn’t offended in any way. As a little repayment, Tim lowered his head towards Dick, and he took the chance to pet him anywhere he could reach.</p><p>Slowly they made their way back to the manor, where dinner was prepared and ready.</p><p> </p><p>The whole family sat at the dining table, including Tim who had shrunk himself to a size fit for the chair. Dick was making small talk with Damian, who was obviously just humouring the elder brother with short answers.</p><p>Tim was looking at the food Alfred had served to him. It was perfect as always, and lesser vegetables as usual because Alfred was very observant and had noticed that Tim didn’t eat much of his greens in the previous meals. In human form it was fine, but his dragon digestion couldn’t get much nutrients from plants.</p><p>(Although he would very much prefer meat that was more on the raw side, the cooked steak was more than enough for Tim.)</p><p> </p><p>After dinner Jason left for his own apartment. Dick was pestering Damian in the sitting room where Damian was finishing up his homework. Bruce was in the cave, preparing for patrol later.</p><p>Tim? Tim was bored. And hungry. Flying took a lot out of him today, and the dinner, while sufficient for a human stomach, wasn’t actually enough for him in dragon form. He was lying belly down on the floor with Titus, far enough from Dick and Damian to not be in the scene of action when Damian inevitably kills Dick for being a nuisance, but close enough to stop anything serious from happening.</p><p>His stomach growled, but it was soft enough that no one else heard. Titus’ ears perked up a little, but upon seeing no reaction from the other occupants in the room, he closed his eyes again and dozed.</p><p>Not long after, Damian was finally done with his work and went down to the cave to suit up. Dick didn’t go with him – Nightwing wasn’t needed today.</p><p>Missing his youngest sibling to annoy, Dick turned his attention to Tim on the floor. Even with one glance at him, Tim could tell exactly what Dick wanted to do.</p><p>His current size was just about the same as Dick, making his bely flop on the carpet even more enjoyable. And although he was definitely not as squishy as a soft toy, Dick had always had the bad habit of wanting to glomp something the same size as him.</p><p>With a sigh, Tim raised his left wing up, clearing a space for his elder brother, who was already vibrating with excitement.</p><p>‘Alright, do what you gotta do and get it out of your system.’ Tim said dryly, and Dick <em>pounced.</em></p><p>He squashed himself up against Tim’s belly scales, arms around his neck and face pressed against his. Tim gently lowered his wing so Dick was almost completely hidden from view. The satisfied hum brought out Tim’s own happy growl.</p><p>Dick hadn’t been home since the first day Tim turned to a dragon. Now that he had absolutely nothing to do, no work, no patrol, Tim found himself missing his elder brother. So this interaction was definitely enjoyable, even though as human Tim would usually do his best to get out of Dick’s clutches.</p><p>They laid there for a while, until Tim was quite sure that Batman and Robin were already out patrolling.</p><p> </p><p>Suddenly, Tim’s stomach growled. Loudly.</p><p> </p><p>If Tim could blush, his face would have been red. As such, he only hunkered down and closed his eyes. As expected, Dick’s laughter came second after.</p><p>‘Awww, was dinner not enough for you Timmy?’</p><p>‘Shut up. I used a lot of energy today.’ He replied petulantly.</p><p>Dick moved to sit up, and Tim helpfully lifted his wings so he could do so. The elder man stretched, one of his joints popping. ‘Well, I wouldn’t be a good brother if I let my siblings go hungry, now am I? Tell me what you want, and I can go and get it.’</p><p> </p><p>And here’s the thing. There were a few reasons why Tim decided to do what he did. He had spent time as a dragon with his two other siblings, and even Alfred. And Dick hadn’t been home for a while. And <em>Tim </em>hadn’t been out of the house for a while either.</p><p> </p><p>So Tim got up, and shrunk himself just as he was moving to Dick. His smaller size made it easier to climb up Dick’s torso all the way to his neck, where he draped himself like a dead fox over the shoulders.</p><p>‘Bring me bring me!’</p><p>To Dick’s credit he only laughed. ‘I don’t think we can go out like this buddy.’ But his hand was at Tim’s chin, and the scratches he received was pure heaven. Tim melted like a putty under those scratches.</p><p>‘Maybe if you’re a little smaller, and I can change into one of my button ups that has a pocket, so you can ride in my pocket?’</p><p>‘Hell yeah!’</p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>They were up on Tim’s favourite roof, three-person worth of rare steak having been taken away from one of the restaurant nearby.</p><p>Tim really appreciated the dark night sky, and the still bustling city. He didn’t know he would miss this so much after only a few days, but apparently being forbidden to go out was making it worse than if he couldn’t. It wasn’t like he was actively banned by Bruce or anyone else – no one had even mentioned that he couldn’t. But it was his upbringing, where he was a raised by his mother to never go out in dragon form.</p><p>Even when Dick was in the restaurant ordering and waiting for their takeaway to arrive, he hid himself deep in his pocket hidey-hole, and kept himself still. And even now, on the rooftop where Tim had always been able to relax and be <em>Tim </em>instead of Red Robin just for a little while, Tim the dragon was still keeping himself small, lest he was seen by anyone.</p><p>‘You know, I think for you to be able to finish these steaks, you gotta be bigger than a baby snake, yeah?’ Dick said, when all Tim did when he flew out of his pocket was to land right next to the takeaway boxes. Which was currently twice his size.</p><p>Tim hissed in reply. But he did shift so that he was at least larger than the takeout box. And it was just like Dick to understand his conundrum, because the man moved to sit right behind him, with the takeout boxes at his feet. That way, anyone who passed by would assume that those boxes were his. Additionally, they were at the strategic spot where Dick’s shadow was cast onto his lap, thereby hiding Tim out of sight.</p><p>Dick gave him a wide grin. ‘Go on, I know you’re hungry. We don’t have to go back just yet.’</p><p>Overcame by the sudden surge of love towards his elder brother, Tim only nuzzled against his belly. The hand on his head was warm and encompassing everything Dick had ever meant to him. ‘Go on!’ His brother only repeated.</p><p>That takeout was the best takeout he had ever eaten.</p><p> </p><p>Although the face that they received from Alfred was definitely not enjoyable at all. Tim had hurriedly skulked back into his room the moment Dick had froze at Alfred’s glare, leaving the man to deal with Alfred alone.</p><p>His affronted ‘hey!’ didn’t even make Tim hesitate, while Alfred’s ‘Master <em>Dick’</em> did make him flinch a bit.</p><p> </p><p>The next morning, Dick was gone for work back at Bludhaven (but not before giving Tim a noogie as punishment for leaving him alone with Alfred). Tim quietly ate his breakfast like a good dragon. Damian was busy with his own food, while Bruce was giving him the side-eye, wondering about Dick’s actions.</p><p>He thought this would all be over, but then Alfred came back out from the kitchen with a plate of mouth-watering meat. He ducked his head when Alfred put in right in front of him.</p><p>‘Now, Master Tim, I would like it to be known that my steak making skills are far more superior than McKenzies the restaurant, and thus if you have the urge for more food, I implore you to look for me.’</p><p>Bruce blinked at the amount of meat on the plate, while Damian huffed, the presence of meat offending his sensibilities. But none of them said a word, and for that Tim was particularly grateful.</p><p>He looked back at the butler’s smiling eyes, betraying his amusement that his strict tone did not. ‘Okay Alfred.’</p><p>The smile he received was more than enough reward that Tim didn’t protest Alfred’s idea of punishment, which was to play a few rounds of chess with him even though everyone knew that Tim was a sore loser.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">Bruce</span>
</p><p>It had been a full one week since Tim was stuck in his dragon form. He had never been so free before, had never go through even three days without working.</p><p>The novelty of him being a dragon had already died down. Jason had managed to persuade him for another flight, but he was now currently knee-deep in a case that <em>Red Robin could have helped if he wasn’t a dragon. </em>Instead, Nightwing was assisting him.</p><p>Damian and Bruce were supposed to be out patrolling, but there was an unexpected fight, and Damian was forced to get home early for someone to heal his broken leg. Batman was still out, making sure that no one got away. So here Tim was, at the med bay in the cave. Alfred was telling the younger boy to avoid walking on the broken leg, while Damian was expectedly unhappy that he wouldn’t be able to do things on his own for at least a few days.</p><p>Tim was currently slightly larger than Titus, which was more than enough to do what he wanted to do. He crouched down in front of Damian, who had his legs dangling off the bed. ‘Come on, I can carry you back to your room. Then now you can safely say to everyone who might ask that you have ridden a dragon before.’ He tried to make it a joke.</p><p>There was a pause as Damian mused, in between the indignity of having Tim carrying him back and the potential enjoyment of riding a dragon (because he had been watching when Todd was riding Drake in the sky, and they seemed like they were having so much fun). In the end, the excitement of riding an actual dragon won out, and slowly he moved to climb onto Tim’s back, with Alfred’s assistance.</p><p>The ride up was slow because Tim didn’t want to drop Damian, and there wasn’t anywhere else his younger brother could hold onto other than his neck. And he definitely didn’t want to agitate Damian enough for him to wring his delicate neck. But Damian was surprisingly calm and still on him, and they reached the boy’s room in no time.</p><p>Slowly and carefully Tim climbed up Damian’s bed, then crouched down enough for the younger boy to move down from his back. Once he was off his back Tim shifted so that he was smaller and didn’t take so much space. He watched as Damian struggled to shift and lay down in a more comfortable position, but he didn’t offer his help.</p><p>First, his claws would only make matters worse, and second, he wasn’t sure he and Damian were close enough for his offer of help to be perceived as such, and not treated as an insult. So instead he waited until Damian finally laid down with a sigh, and he curled up against the boy’s chest. He was actually imitating Alfred the cat, who was always sleeping beside or on the body of someone else emitting warmth.</p><p>From the fact that Damian only clicked his tongue at him but didn’t do anything to remove him from the bed, Tim figured they were at least in a closer relationship than before he was found to be a dragon.</p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>Even though Damian was now sound asleep, Tim was having his random bouts of insomnia. There’s something that’s keeping him awake, making him anxious.</p><p>It was way past midnight, but still a few hours before morning. With his sleep schedule these past few days, he would have been sound asleep by now. But here he was, wide awake.</p><p>After a few minutes of trying, Tim finally decided to get up. Maybe there was something that he could do. He was sure that he didn’t hear Alfred’s nor Bruce’s bedroom door close, so most probably they were still awake. Or maybe Bruce still hadn’t come home yet, which was a little worrying because Tim was of the impression that the bad guys tonight was supposed to be easily dealt with.</p><p>He dropped by the cave, where Alfred was quietly waiting for Bruce to return. He was holding an open book, but it was obvious that the older man wasn’t reading a single word of it.</p><p>‘Alfred?’</p><p>‘Ah, Master Tim. I thought that you and Master Damian are asleep.’ The butler raised from his chair and moved the book to the table beside him.</p><p>‘Is Bruce okay? He’s out there for a long time now.’</p><p>Alfred pursed his lips, obviously unhappy about something. ‘Master Bruce told me that he received some new information about the group that he was targeting before, and he wanted to check it out before returning and resting for the night. Miss Gordon had enlightened me on the fact that Batman is currently engaged in a fight, but the stubborn man refused any assistant.’</p><p>Before Tim could say anything like <em>let me go and help, please, I’m a dragon, I can breathe fire and shit, </em>Barbara’s voice came through the comms.</p><p>‘Oh, is that Tim? Hey kiddo, how are you? I heard you were hurt or something from a mission a week ago?’</p><p>‘Hi, Barbara, I’m fine. Just bored and worried about B. How is he?’ Not the first time, Tim was appreciative of Barbara’s code of conduct, whereby she won’t look through the cameras without warning unless during an emergency. The news of him being a dragon had not spread to people other than his brothers, B and Alfred, and before he could figure out how or if he <em>should </em>let the others know, he would like to keep it that way.</p><p>For now, all Barbara and the rest of their associates knew was that Tim was injured last week, and he would not be able to assist in any upcoming missions. Some of his friends had wanted to come visit him and make sure he was alright, but so far Tim managed to convince them that it was nothing, and that they shouldn’t waste their time because Tim would get better very soon.</p><p>Albeit his “very soon” was estimated to be a few days, and it had almost been a week already. But so far his friends, his other siblings, the Titans and everyone else were busy with their own cases and work, so he was safe for now. <em>As long as he could turn back within these few days, then everything would be fine.</em></p><p>Both of them could hear Barbara rolling her eyes even without seeing it. ‘Thankfully B could still handle those goons by himself, which was why I didn’t ask anyone to assist him. He should be back soon, after I direct him to the information we needed. Tim, you should go rest, it’s kinda late for little birds not on missions.’ Her voice was cheerful enough for Tim to believe her.</p><p>Catching Alfred’s eye, Tim only agreed. Now that he knew that Bruce was safe, he could probably be able to sleep now. After saying goodbye to Barbara and Alfred, who had only sat back down on the chair, determined to wait for Bruce’s return, Tim went back upstairs.</p><p>First he went back to his room and his bed, but even after rolling around and closing his eyes, he couldn’t sleep.</p><p>There was only one thing left to do.</p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>Bruce came home to the unsurprisingly disappointed look of Alfred. His father figure didn’t need to say a word – Bruce hung his head, but unapologetically said ‘I was fine. Everything turned out fine.’</p><p>‘’But you didn’t know that before you decided to stay without backup, did you Master Bruce?’</p><p>Still, the fact that the man had stayed up to wait for him was a sign that he wasn’t livid, just worried. So Bruce gave him a shoulder hug. ‘I know what I was doing, Alfred.’</p><p>‘You better.’</p><p>He hung up his armour, changed to his casuals. ‘How is Damian? Dick and Jason?’ He asked Alfred as they walked back up to the main house. It was so late it’s practically early, and he knew that while Damian would be sleeping by now (when anyone’s hurt in this family, the rest of the family would make sure they retire early), he didn’t manage to follow up with Dick and Jason’s case.</p><p>‘Master Damian is asleep. Master Dick had sent a message saying that he and Master Jason had reached his apartment, and that Master Jason would be staying for the night. He did not mention any injuries, so I presumed that everything had gone well.’</p><p>Bruce nodded, relieved that there was nothing else that had gone wrong during the night. He was tired, and he was really missing his bed. Thank God there weren’t any early morning meetings the next day.</p><p>‘Alright, and Tim?’</p><p>‘Master Tim had come down to the cave two hours ago, but after reassuring him of your safety, he had retired back to bed.’</p><p>‘Good. Then I’ll go to bed myself. You should get some rest too, Alfred. With Damian being hurt, he won’t be able to go to school tomorrow, so we don’t need to wake up as early as we used to. Get some extra sleep.’</p><p>Alfred looked horrified at the suggestion. ‘I beg your pardon! I <em>will not, </em>it is absolutely unprofessional.’</p><p>That only gave Bruce a good laugh as he clapped the man on the shoulders. ‘See you tomorrow, Alfred. Good night.’</p><p>‘Good night Master Bruce.’</p><p> </p><p>He wasn’t the World’s greatest detective for nothing, so Bruce immediately noticed that something was different when he entered the room. There were clues scattered all around the room, and if he wasn’t sure that it was a non-hostile, he would have thrown that batarang that was in his hands in an instant. Instead, he slowly moved towards the bed, where the anomaly was.</p><p>And there he was, sleeping soundly on his bed. Tim, who was currently a dragon the size of Titus. His head was on one of the pillows (yes, Bruce sleeps on a bed with multiple pillows, sue him), his arms hugging one, and his tail was curled up beside him. His wings were neatly tucked on his back, but almost drooping, swaying at the same time as his breath.</p><p>Small little huffs of breath made Bruce relax, shoving the batarang in his hand back to its hidden spot. He watched as his son slept on, apparently finding comfort in Bruce’s bed.</p><p>He remembered when there was a child in his bed. The first time, he was so uncomfortable he didn’t sleep for the whole night Dick was in his arms. His first son had a nightmare, and like how he would deal with it when his parents were still alive, Dick had gone to Bruce straight away, and leaped into his bed, shocking him awake. Only the childish cries of “Bruce!” had stopped him from attacking his newly acquired child.</p><p>Dick did it multiple times throughout the years he lived here in the mansion. Jason did that once or twice, but mostly he had determined the act of looking for Bruce in the middle of the night was childish and unbecoming of him, so he stopped. Bruce wasn’t sure if he was relieved or disappointed.</p><p>Tim as a human child never appeared near his room. He had always thought that it was just his nature to keep everything to himself, and also adding to the fact that his parents were never home anyway, and the young child would have to learn to rely on himself. But Bruce did manage to catch young Tim loitering at his door once or twice in the middle of the night.</p><p>He led the young boy to the kitchen to prepare some warm milk (chocolate sometimes, if Tim felt like it), and they went to the living room where Bruce turned some random documentaries on, and Tim would fall asleep with his head on Bruce’s lap, and Alfred would find them there in the morning.</p><p>But no, Tim was never the one to appear in Bruce’s bed.</p><p>Even Damian had slept in the same bed with him once. They were discussing Damian’s future in Gotham, now that Talia and the League were out of the picture. It was after patrol, and when the conversation had veered away from the serious and into normal daily life conversation, Damian, young that he was, had slowly fallen asleep. It was all Bruce could do, to <em>not </em>pinch those baby cheeks for fear of his life. What he ended up doing was to tuck himself and his son under the covers, and sleep. The next day he woke up, Damian was gone, and everyone pretended that it didn’t happen.</p><p> </p><p>Bruce looked at Tim. His third son, the one that he hadn’t initially wanted, but ended up needing anyway. As quietly as possible, he shifted the covers and slid under them. Tim was sleeping on top of the covers, but he managed to wiggle his way in so that he wouldn’t get cold in the middle of his sleep.</p><p>Looking at the sleeping dragon, he couldn’t imagine his life without this young boy, barging into his life demanding that Batman needs his Robin.</p><p>He was angry then, but now he was so thankful that he didn’t push him away, like how he did Dick and Jason back then.</p><p>He could still remember that conversation he had with Tim when he finally decided to bring Tim in as Robin.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>‘-you saw me right? I was great! I could help you! I know I’m not a fighter like your previous Robins, but I can serve as distraction!’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘Yes, I saw. And… you were very brave, out there.’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘Yeah I was! You saw me right?’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘Yes. So, Tim. With a few conditions, I would… I would like it if you continue and support me as my Robin.’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘… really? Really! Oh that’s sweet! I won’t let you down, Mr Wayne! I swear! I’ll do everything that you ask me to!’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘No, Tim. I don’t need you to swear that. I may be Batman, but I am still human and therefore I will make mistakes. I only need you to promise me that you’d let me know if you can’t handle it, okay?’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘Oh… Yeah, of course. I swear. I’ll be good, I promise.’</em>
</p><p><em>Bruce knew that young Tim was probably misunderstanding his words, but he figured that he had time to make sure he understood. Bruce wanted to know if he isn’t coping well to make sure that they take a notch back, let the young one breathe for a while without pressure. But instead it seemed like Tim understood it as </em>Bruce wanted to know if Tim can’t handle it so he could take Robin away and give it to someone else.</p><p>
  <em>But Tim had only just begun, surely after some time of working together, Tim would understand what kind of a person he was, that he had learnt his lessons in taking Robin away from someone without warning and without reason.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>A soft grumble, and the dragon slowly woke up. ‘-Bruce?’</p><p>‘Yes, chum.’</p><p>‘Oh, you’re… all good?’ Tim mumbled sleepily, but managed to raise his head and open his eyes. But Bruce gently patted on his head and pressing a hand over his eyes. A gesture that was similar to the one Bruce always does to Tim, when he was in human form, where he tried to push Tim's falling fringe back behind his ear.</p><p>‘Yes, I’m all good. Now go to sleep, it’s late.’</p><p>‘You mean it’s early.’ Tim retorted, but stood up and moved fully onto the pillows so he could squirm his way under the sheets. Once under, he had his claws and tail around Bruce’s arm. In return, Bruce turned towards him a little more, and the dragon took that as an invitation to further curl himself up against Bruce.</p><p>Tim let out a soft satisfied rumble and closed his eyes. Soon after, his breathing deepened, and Bruce knew he was back asleep again.</p><p> </p><p>Bruce knew that they still needed to talk. He could tell that Tim was hiding from him these past few days, perhaps because he was scared Bruce would scold him about keeping him being a dragon a secret. Or something similar.</p><p>And yes, he was… upset that Tim didn’t tell him. Not because of anything else, but rather it was the hint that Tim didn’t trust him enough to tell him. At the same time though, Tim had acted like him being a dragon was supposed to be a secret to <em>everyone, </em>that even with people he trusted, he wouldn’t have told anyway.</p><p>As usual, he blamed the Drakes for raising Tim up as they did. But from Tim’s words, it seemed that Janet Drake’s parenting skills were better than other dragons?</p><p>No matter, the fact that she had chosen to raise him up like a human meant that whatever she was doing wasn’t enough <em>for a human child. </em>Bruce didn’t care that Tim was a dragon, that Janet Drake was a dragon.</p><p>Tim deserved more than what he had been given. And now hopefully, with this secret out, he could finally give Tim what he deserved.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>A family to be with you through thick and thin, and a family that loves you.</em>
</p>
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